Russian TV reporter quits over crash coverage

Jul. 19, 2014
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London-based RT correspondent Sara Firth. / Twitter

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

A reporter for a global Russian TV channel resigned over what she called the Kremlin-funded station's "disregard for the facts" in its coverage of the downing of the Malaysian passenger jet over Ukraine.

Sara Firth, based in London, quit Friday morning after five years with Moscow-based RT. After tweeting her departure, she told the Press Gazette Thursday's coverage was "the straw that broke the camel's back for me."

She told the British media trade magazine that as soon as the story broke, "I walked into the newsroom, and they were running an eyewitness account of God knows who the person was blaming the Ukrainian government, and it is such a volatile situation.

"It's the level of disrespect for the facts that really bugs me," she said.

"I couldn't do it any more, We're lying every single day ... and finding sexier ways to do it."

In a Twitter exchange with another RT correspondent before she resigned, Firth said that they spread "lies" and that they "work for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin."

"We are asked on a daily basis if not to totally ignore then to obscure the truth," she tweeted.

Firth told the Press Gazette hours later that the RT style manual tells the editorial staff to cast blame on Ukraine, or any other factor, instead of Russia. "It's scary that it's genuine RT guidance on how to do a story, and you have to believe it to succeed there. You stop believing that what they say is the way it is and you stop being useful to them."

An RT statement said the station was "not surprised" by her resignation, because she had "recently informed us that she was likely to take an offer from another firm."

"Sara has declared that she chooses the truth; apparently we have different definitions of truth," the statement continued. "We believe that truth is what our reporters see on the ground, with their own eyes, and not what's printed in the morning London newspaper."

An op-ed by a United Kingdom journalist posted Friday on RT declared: "UK media show weakness for sensationalism & propaganda in wake of MH17 tragedy."

RT, formerly Russia Today, began broadcasting in English in 2005, and then added coverage in Spanish and Arabic. The station says it "provides an alternative perspective on major global events, and acquaints international audience with the Russian viewpoint." Critics call it a mouthpiece for Putin and the Kremlin.

In an interview with the Press Gazette last year, Firth, 27, denied the station was biased toward the Russian government.

"Facts are my religion," she said at the time. "When it comes to covering a story, if anyone asked me to alter or drop something, I'd be out. I wouldn't think twice about it."

Firth is the second RT staffer to resign this year. In March, Washington-based anchor Liz Wahl quit on the air, saying the station "whitewashes the actions of Putin" and asks her to "promote Russian foreign policy."